‘Many Questions But Few Answers’ - ATP Chief Uncertain Over 2020 Calendar - UBITENNIS

‘Many Questions But Few Answers’ – ATP Chief Uncertain Over 2020 Calendar

Andrea Gaudenzi says tournaments must not come to an halt if there is a positive COVID-19 test.

By Adam Addicott
6 Min Read

The head of the ATP has said he is still unsure if a series of tournaments will be able to take place across Asia and Europe later this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andrea Gaudenzi says there are ‘too many variables’ preventing him from planning ahead due to the worldwide health crises. All professional matches have been suspended since March but they will resume next month. On the ATP Tour, their first tournament will be at the Citi Open in Washington which will start during the second week of August. At present the governing body of men’s tournament has published a provisional schedule which only goes up until the French Open.

“We have no idea how the Asian swing or the European indoor season could go. It might sound obvious, but I can’t predict how the virus will affect us going forward, there are too many variables to consider,” Gaudenzi told Sky Sport Italia.

It appears that chances of tennis events being staged in China are slim. Recently the General Administration of Sport published recommendations that no international events are held in the country for the rest of 2020 unless they are related to Olympic qualification. Although tennis and other sporting organisations are seeking clarity before they scrap their events. Elsewhere, it is being reported that the ATP Finals in London remains on but the Next Gen equivalent that takes place a week before may not go ahead. Another event unlikely to go ahead is the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

Gaudenzi says tennis is at a disadvantage due to the global travel requirements compared to team tournaments. Some players have recently cast doubt over attending the US Open as they are unsure if they will be required to enter quarantine after leaving the country, which is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Marca newspaper reported on Monday that there are ‘ongoing negotiations’ to address this issue.

“We have many questions but few answers, because many answers are objectively impossible to provide,” former world No.18 Gaudenzi admits.
“Compared to other sports, tennis is at a disadvantage precisely because of its global nature. The players get to a tournament from every part of the world, and then move to another nation, if not to another continent altogether. Football and NBA basketball can simply devise a bubble of various sizes and shut themselves in to host their events, something we cannot do.’
“And the national governments aren’t giving us any indication regarding potential exemptions [referring to the quarantine] for the athletes involved in a given event.”

There is still hope

Gaudenzi, who took over as the boss of the ATP earlier this year, says there has been one silver lining to the pandemic with various governing bodies now working closer together. Tennis is guided by seven different organisations – ATP, WTA, ITF and each of the Grand Slam boards. In recent weeks there has been calls for men’s and women’s tennis to merge, but such a move is unlikely to occur in the near future.

“Over the last three months, we have had to make some decisions that were unprecedented in the history of tennis. We, the WTA, and the ITF were in conflict with each other at the onset of the pandemic, everyone was going their own way, but over time and up to today we have begun to work hard with a shared objective in mind, namely the safe resuming of play, which is the only thing that really matters right now.”

Whilst the future is uncertain, Gaudenzi says he is still hopeful. Admitting that the potential of a positive COVID-19 test occurring in tournaments will be something the sport might have to get used to. During the Tour hiatus, there was an outbreak of the virus at the Adria Tour which led to it being cancelled.

“I must remain optimistic, but I also need to keep my feet on the ground,” he said.
“We need to understand that a tournament can’t come to a halt because of a positive test, especially if it’s already in its late stages. This is why we need to keep our guard up, as well as to predict all possible outcomes, before giving the go-ahead to each event. The next two weeks are going to be crucial.”

So far the ATP has given the green light for five tournaments to take place alongside the two Grand Slams.

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